first day of the easter long weekend, and here i am sitting behind a computer screen - where i will most likely remain for the rest of the day. i have an assignment for uni which is overdue (i got an extension till monday) that i really want to knock over today. maybe i'll dangle a carrot for myself - i still haven't seen 'walk the line', and it's on at our local multiplex at 6.30 tonight... i also have monday off work which is a stroke of luck, i had to apply for it a month in advance. we never get mondays off, it's the busiest day of the week and they rarely approve leave on official public holidays. i work for a brewery, selling beer - more accurately, taking orders for alcoholic beverages over the phone. the post-weekend re-stocking rush makes monday *the* day to have all hands on deck.

this weekend will be full of family; we're spending some time with mark's mum, then going off to my brother's house for a family get together, which i'm really looking forward to. i come from a large family, and have many cousins, some of whom are in melbourne. even then i don't get to see them that often, but on sunday night we're all gathering at my brother's house for a bbq. i'm making sangria - white wine sangria with fresh fruit and mint leaves. i made it once before, and it's sunshine in a glass. hope the real sunshine holds out!

speaking of my large family, there are plans afoot to have a massive reunion in melbourne over christmas this year. if it happens, it would be a sight to behold - there would be people coming down from all over the world, some of whom have not seen each other for many years. mark and i will be unable to attend, however, as we're planning to head off on an overseas jaunt of our own. i'm sort of stuck between excitement and apprehension - i'm looking forward to seeing the world (finally!) but i'm also worried about language barriers and having enough money. if any of you blog readers out there have a couch we could crash on late this year, let us know! i'll cook you a curry, make you wine sangria, boil up a real masala chai and regale you with stories about my large family. or, if you'd rather, i'll shut up, leave you alone, keep your room tidy and leave some money on the nightstand on my way out. either way, i would love to see europe in particular with the assistance of locals - so if you think you might be able to help, drop me a line and we'll work out details!

in the meantime, we are off to fiji in june. we have almost decided that this time, we will catch busses instead of hiring cars. a lot has changed in fiji since i was there, and if i continue to cloister myself away in the comfort of a private rental car, it's almost certain i will not see those changes. the last time i went back to fiji was the first time i was doing so as an independant adult away from my parents, but i don't think i gave that realisation the room to fully sink in. this time i think i need to put myself out there more, to get out there and talk with people and hang with them (and take notes). basically, get out of the confines of the life i know there, and immerse myself in other realitites, other ways of being. i'm calling it 'reasearch' for my next project. the release of 'the bollywood beauty' has attracted some attention there, and i am going to be meeting with a lot of people to discuss it in various forms of media, and from various angles, while i am there. it's going to be a challenge, but i'm really looking forward to it.